


Straggler

by DOEYES



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Psychological Drama, Tragic Romance, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-07-14 05:27:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7155527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DOEYES/pseuds/DOEYES
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The First Order while doing research into the former Galactic Empire and their downfall find a straggler upon the previously thought stranded degobah system, with no recollection of how she had been transported there. The First Order decides to attempt to take advantage of this sudden new discovery. However as the straggler learns of the order's nature she grows distant, separated, leading to the suspicion of the order, and debate over her elimination.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Straggler

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, hi, hey, this is Doeyes, I just wanted to let you know that this isn't meant to be a rosey cutesy romance fic with a Mary Sue and a completely out of character love interest. I wanted this to be an extremely gritty fic with a lot of violence horrible actions and no glorification of it. Also this is my first fic on archive of our own and I'm really glad you took interest in it and pulled it up, so thank you, it means a lot, like so much. Anyway I hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think.

A thin body lies within the moss covered surface of a cave hidden by the overgrown ivy and shrubs, the thick sent of green fills her nostrils, which flare suddenly, alert now. And like a poised feline, the delicate thin outline of a body, riddled and jagged with bones at the ends, shifts,nearly inhuman in it’s flexibility. She twists that boney back in a way that might not be uncommon for a gungan, yet with all the apparent intelligence of any other humanoid creature. If she were any more feline her ears would have flickered towards the source of her attention, as though she was stalking some great prize of prey. Her nostrils flare, like that of an enraged bull. The core of this, the direction of her attention, was a sound loud and bellowing fills her ears. It was uncommon, strange and vile in it’s artificiality, but somehow, she finds she knows it’s name, _starship engines_. 

Odd, it is like the lullaby of a mother she never knew, lazily lilting, bringing upon a feeling of nostalgia, this was a similar feeling, if not the same. With that a fear does bubble in her chest, the thin body pushes itself against the soft palate of the cave’s open mouth, pressing into it with a harshness, as though to merge with it. A mix of her breath and pulse are quick to drum against her ears, intervals quickeningwiththegrowing, loudness of the nearing ship. It rung endlessly enough to drive her mad, the harshness of it’s sound endlessly assaulting her ears. Pale white hands cup over them, attempting desperately to block out the sound, but it was so loud, so aggressive, the attempt was pointless. It grew and pulsed like a living being, the roar of some primal beast, yet it was so unnatural, so artificial, that the mixture of these two things made her woozy with confusion.

Then as sudden as it had begun, it was over, and returned was the soft flow, of water the thick smell of the swamp, life as it had been but a moment before, before it had been so rudely interrupted. The thin, delicate fingers lowered themselves from her pressed ears, with an anxious slowness to them, and the thin limbs trembled as they were moved, quaking. Once again, she agilely twist a thin body, back to the mouth of the cave. It was still tucked away within the arms of the planets thick foliage. There’s a confusion upon her features. Are they gone? Please, god tell me they’re gone. A breath is caught within her lungs which she knows she’ll only be able to release after investigating further into what had just unfolded before her. She’d felt as though she’d stumbled blindly into this, even worse perhaps she was somehow pushed, the mere thought caused a shudder to go down a protruding spine, presenting itself physically in the form of a subtle tremor.

She swallows whatever fear it is that remains, but within her chest, like a cancer. Perhaps it was a measure of bravery, perhaps one of stupidity, but her body feels as though it pushes itself forward, through the thick, veiny vines which cover the entrance. For a moment, a brief moment as she moves from the dark into the misty, dewy degobah morning, the light floods her vision, and there is nothing but blinding white.

 

* * *

 

General Hux had long learned to teach himself to deal with the pointlessness of Kylo Ren’s needed personal missions. What he had once fought back with, using profuse shrieks, was now reduced to no more than quiet whimpers, through Ren’s own brute force and Snoke’s apparent preferring of him. That was something he had always so greatly despised, he found it to be apparent that his own intellect far surpassed that of Ren’s, but perhaps that was no more than some egocentric ideal which he had kept close to him for his own sanity, that wasn’t unlikely. Still, he had grown more accustomed to this state over the years,and the previously pronounced sharp pain this thorn in his side age him, had simply been wittled down to a dull obnoxious ache.

It was no different here and as the airship (a typical Resurgent-Class Star Destroyer, Hux would travel in no less for image, whist Kylo would have him do so for no more for the nostalgia of a time he never knew) brought itself to a halt upon the watery surface of Degobah, the ache in his side once again presented itself, like a harsh reminder of his standing, as if there hadn’t been enough of those in recency, the entirety of this mission had been one had it not? Doing simple work, going out into the field for something so _meaningless_. But of course as was so typical of him Kylo if there was even a possibility of a historical artifact, the mission must be well supervised. If they even found yoda’s hut, however he would be surprised if it was no more than myth that it had been in this region to begin with. _The first order should not mind itself with such trivialities,_ he thought. But it was below his rank to say otherwise and so there was nothing he could use to bite back with.

The ship came to a tremor as it landed for a moment, in thanks to the odd, mossy, wet surface of the planet, taking the entirety of the ships passengers along with it as it shook from one side to the other. The ship, despite being incredibly large, had thankfully been able to just about squeeze into the clearing they’d found for themselves, surrounded in nothing but swamp, of course. The situation was only progressively irritating him, now they were to be forced to trudge knee deep into never abandoned planet filled to the brim with never ending bogs.

“Releasing fleet.” Rang a small voice, from one of the surrounding pilots, each of them working in tandem to keep a large, mammoth of a ship up and running without error, or little to none, at the very least, any less would lead to severe punishment. The soldiers had been deployed the instant the thick thud of a large metal opening releasing was heard, the sound of their marches, each both them in synch with the other creating perfect unity. Hux followed, at his own pace however, not very excited about taking his first step upon the planet’s surface.

Though when his left foot did make contact with it, he found it was exactly as he had suspected, if not worse, he was knee deep in muck, the entire planet’s sewage. The look of a cold grimace was plastered firmly upon his features, not too far in contrast to the usual monotone expression he so often wore. A small group of storm troupers that had been made to embark upon the trip with him, they too trudged endlessly through the world’s waste, blasters in tow.

Despite himself, he felt a small pang of joy watching these soldiers march in line, though he would be hard pressed to admit it, they were his greatest pride. Watching them, as a well organized militia, feared and distinguished throughout the galaxy, it was more than pleasing, more than gratifying, words could not even capsulate such emotions. Was this what it felt like to watch a child grow? To see it move from crawling, to steps, from gurgled murmurs, to eloquent speech. Perhaps, it truly was, it certainly must feel equally gratifying. Still, the twitch of a grin only remains upon his face for but a moment, his lips once again resumed it’s straight and narrow appearance.

“General,” There was a voice muffled through it’s mask, it is a voice he’s heard a thousand times, from many different men, but each of them uniformed and masked, all of them near the same. “there’s movement within the brush.” A hand blaster clad arm, gestures towards a group of plant life. Hux’s eyes are quick to follow the suggested direction, but lazily so, an unspoken sigh apparent upon his face, like the ghost impression one might feel within the force, a sign of something coming, only now it never does. Instead there is a millisecond of shock upon that monotone face, before fading into something confused and muddied, brow knitted together harshly and low upon his eyes, eyes that narrow to better view the sight that is played out in front of him there, like a spectacle to behold.

The vines flutter for a moment, only to part for a milky white hand, lighter than the marble stairs of Naboo’s ancient palaces, followed by a peeking head of ebony colored hair to present itself, only to immediately retreat as a pair of light eyes were also revealed. They’d fled at the sight of them, if there was more than just the one that had been spotted. No, no, this was impossible, any intelligent life forms had long since evacuated the planet, if there even ever had been any to begin with, what was unfolding before his eyes was almost mythical, like the old galactic fairy tales come to life.

Hux did attempt to suspend his disbelief, there must have been something to lead to this, a sensible, logical explanation. Could it be be treasure hunters in search for something, an ancient relic, relating to the training of Skywalker or the life of Yoda or perhaps a rebel group, perhaps a base, or a mission of some type. Those were sensible, yes, there was no other explanation.

It was within a second a group of storm troopers had traversed the foliage. For a moment even Hux, the monotone, elite general found his breath for but a moment to be trapped within his lungs. A moment, no more than a few solitary second, though for some reason it was as though time itself had warped it into something longer, stretched it to an uncomfortable length, tedious and thick.

Than they returned with something boney and frail in their arms, weak with the force of it’s own weight, like a starving animal that long deserved to be put out of its misery. Off of it’s frail body hung clothes, covered in dirt and stained upon every stitch that the fabric had made up, like rags, they were ripped and torn. They were, upon basic inspection several sizes too large for the small body they were meant to encapsulate. Her head which had been hanging downwards, like a depressed man who had lost all will to live. Her features swung upwards, light eye’s making content with Hux’s, large and watery, like those of a child about to weep, filled with an apparent confusion, her brow furrowed, eyes wide. Her hair, long and ebony, was matted a rat’s next of hair.

It takes him a moment to swallow his surprise, it’s certainly not what was expected. It feels as though there’s an air of confusion about them now. It was almost like it had engraved itself into the the planet’s atmosphere. “Take her to the ship, we’ll have her questioned.” He nods. There is a momentary stagger among the stormtroopers, a hesitation. Hux felt a burning within his chest at the lack of obedience, a huff of breath is forced strongly from his lungs, pushing his cheeks outwards with the force of it’s air. His cheeks were a delicate shade of crimson at the sudden crack within his regime. They were meant to be strong, fierce, ruthless, yes, but not independent. “Now!”The word is spoken with enough force to push the men backwards.

Finally, despite them staggering and stumbling the troupers moved forward, Her legs dragged upon the ground, like a rag doll, with no attempted retaliation, no fight, truly she looked as though she didn’t care, a leaf blown to the wind. He looked over the girl who’s eyes still locked upon his from over her jagged, pointed, dagger like shoulder.


End file.
